JUST IN TIME
"Say, they're regular kidnappers!"
"That's what! Wanting to help us was all part of the trick."
"I wonder how they overpowered him? He was a strong man."
"Chloroform, I guess."
"That's right," agreed Dick, the foregoing remarks having been made by
his chums as the big car dashed along in pursuit of the other. "I
smelled it," the young millionaire added.
"I do hope we can catch the scoundrels!" murmured Paul.
"It's a handicap, though, with night coming on," said Innis.
"Well, we won't stop until we have to," said Dick, grimly.
"How do you suppose they worked it?" asked Paul, as the _Last Word_
careened on over the uneven way.
"They must have been trailing us," suggested Dick, as he held to the
vibrating steering wheel. "Martin and Wickford probably got in touch
with their crowd by telegraph after we got away from them, and very
likely mapped out the course we would probably take. They knew we had to
come to San Francisco. Then they dropped out of the game--Martin and
Wickford did--and some others took up the chase. The object was to get
hold of Mr. Cameron so he couldn't testify."
"And they've done it," said Innis, gloomily.
"But we'll get him back!" asserted Paul.
"That's what!" declared Dick. "We'll keep on their trail until we get
him away from them. Fate rather played into their hands this trip. If we
hadn't become stalled they might not have caught up with us, as I was
thinking of laying up over night, and they might have passed us in the
evening.
"However, it can't be helped. We'll do the best we can. As soon as they
saw us, when they came dashing up, they must have laid their plans. They
knew our car the moment they laid eyes on it, and we were at a
disadvantage, for we'd never seen them before."
"And we didn't suspect," added Paul, gloomily.
"No," went on our hero. "I even believe they punctured that tire on
purpose."
"They might have," admitted Innis. "It's a wonder that fellow didn't put
your motor out of commission for keeps, Dick, while he was working over
it."
"He might easily have done so. I never suspected a thing. But I was
watching him pretty closely, for all that, for he didn't know as much
about machinery as he pretended to. He couldn't have tried any trick
without my seeing him, and I guess he didn't care to take any chances.
"His game was to hold my attention while his confederates worked things
so as to get Mr. Cameron near their car. Then they grabbed him, stuck a
chloroformed rag over his nose to take the fight out of him, and made
their get-away."
"It's lucky your motor started when it did," remarked Innis, as he clung
to the sides of the swaying car.
"That's right," agreed Dick. "We might have been stalled yet, only that
luck was with us. I suppose monkeying with it the way we did, we put
back into adjustment some little thing that was out of gear. She's
running like a sewing machine now."
And indeed the big car was responding nobly to the demands made on her.
The road was very good, fortunately. It was getting dusk, but the boys
had no thought of even halting for supper. There were some sandwiches
they could eat later on.
Dick switched on the powerful searchlights and the path ahead of them
was illumined by a brilliant glow. Mile after mile they covered, and as
it happened, the only crossroads they passed were so poor that it would
have been dangerous for the car ahead of them to have turned off.
"Though they may slip into some side lane, and trust to us to run
past," said Paul.
"Maybe," assented Dick. "The odds are against us, but we'll keep on."
"Look!" suddenly cried Innis, pointing ahead. Through the darkness they
could see a single gleam of red, like some big ruby.
"Their tail light!" cried Dick.
"Unless it's some other car," said Paul.
"We haven't passed any, though maybe we're catching up to one that came
in from some side road," admitted Dick. "Here goes for a spurt. Maybe we
can catch 'em!"
He threw on all the power that was safe on such a road at night, and the
_Last Word_ forged ahead. It was their one best chance to catch the
other car, if indeed that was it, and they were taking advantage of it.
On and on they raced, the big auto swaying dangerously. Fortunately they
did not have to worry about tire trouble, and this was something that
might handicap the other car at a moment's notice. On and on they raced.
"The light seems to be brighter now," said Paul.
"I think we are catching up to them," agreed Innis.
"I hope so," murmured Dick. He peered ahead for a sign of any possible
obstruction into which they might crash. At the speed they were keeping
up, to hit anything, or have even a slight accident, would be serious.
But the big lights made the road very plain.
"They must have seen us," observed Paul.
"I fancy so," agreed Dick. "I wish we had some way of puncturing one of
their tires."
Almost as he spoke there came from the car ahead of them a loud report.
"They're firing at us, just as those other fellows did!" cried Paul.
"No, that wasn't a shot!" yelled Dick. "Fellows, it's a tire blow-out.
We've got 'em."
He gave the laboring motor of the _Last Word_ a little more gasoline and
adjusted the spark lever. The car responded promptly.
"We're overhauling 'em!" cried Innis.
The red tail light was growing more bright every moment. It could be
seen that the other auto was losing speed. There was the sound of
another tire giving way, and then the screech as brakes were quickly
applied.
"We've got 'em!" yelled Dick. "Luck's with us to-night, all right!"
The other car was in full glare of the search-lamps of Dick's car now.
Three figures were seen to leap out and make for the woods on one side
of the highway.
"Mr. Cameron! Mr. Cameron!" yelled Dick. "Are you all right?"
There was no answer. A moment later the big car shot up alongside the
stalled one. The boys leaped out, and a glance inside the auto they had
pursued showed them the figure of the engineer huddled up on the floor
of the tonneau.
"Are you all right? Have they harmed you?" asked Dick, opening one of
the side doors. A murmur was the only answer he got.
"They've gagged him!" cried Paul.
A moment later the boys had the rag from the mouth of their friend, and
had cut the cords that bound him. They helped him to his feet, and one
of them brought him a drink of water from the big car.
"How are you?" asked Dick, anxiously.
"All--right--now," was the hesitating answer. "A little--knocked out,
but still in the ring. You came just in time, boys."
"How is that?" inquired Dick.
"Ten minutes later they would have been at the railroad station, and had
me aboard a train. Then they'd have taken me into the unknown again, and
you'd never have gotten me until it was too late. You were just in
time."